Saving Your True Love
by x Babycakes x
Summary: During the attack in the caves, what would have happened if instead of Dimitri being captured and turned Strigoi, Rose had ran back in to save him. What if she had been captured too? Will they be able to escape - together?
1. Coinsidence

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from 'Vampire Academy' – they all belong to Richelle Mead. **

This story continues from when the Strigoi are attacked in the caves – where Dimitri is originally caught and turned Strigoi.

Rose POV

As I turned to look back into the cave, I saw the blonde Strigoi bite into Dimitri's neck. I shouted for him to stop and tried to run back into the cave, only to be stopped by Stan.

"Move!" I shouted. "We have to save him!" I pointed to Dimitri.

Stan didn't even follow my hand to see where I was pointing, he simply held me back, stopping me from moving towards the love of my life.

I continued pulling away from Stan, trying to get free. Then I heard the footsteps of more dhampirs running from the cave. I looked around to see who was missing. I couldn't see my mother anywhere, or the group that she had taken in. There were a couple of other guardians missing, but I presumed that some had been killed.

I looked back to the cave to see my mothers group running towards the exit. When they reached the dim rays of sunlight, they slowed down. They were all panting from running.

Stan released me and stepped over to my mother to see if she was alright. I think that I saw him smile in her direction, a 'more than friends' smile. Without bothering to check it out, I took my only opportunity and sprinted back into the cave. I must have been quiet because I heard no shouting and no footsteps following me back in.

When I reached the point where Dimitri had been, I saw two Strigoi come out from behind me. I jumped around and tried to drive the stake through the first Strigoi's heart. He dodged my attempt and punched me in the stomach. It knocked the wind out of me, distracting me for a moment. This was all the time they needed for the second to grab both of my arms behind my back. I shouted in defence.

"Get of me!" I knew that they wouldn't, but I was hoping to get some attention from outside. When I glanced up to the entrance of the cave, I saw Stan leaning in to a hug with my mother. She turned her head in the direction of the shout and saw me, held in place by two large Strigoi's. The look of pain on her face was obvious. Without even thinking, she ran into the cave, bumping into three more Strigoi before reaching me.

I kicked the Strigoi who was holding my arms. They seemed surprised, but didn't loosen their grip. I felt something hit my head really hard, and then everything went blank.

My head hurt, a lot. When I began to hear sounds around me, I knew that I was regaining consciousness. I slowly opened my eyes, but all that I could see was a small flicker of light from the very corner of my eye. I looked towards it and saw a little lamp. It shone off the surrounding walls showing me that the room was square, and not very big. There were no windows and the only door was big and metal. There was no way I could escape, at least not on my own.

Then I began to wonder where I was, and where everybody else was.

"Hello?" I called out. It was only quiet, but I knew that if anybody was going to hear me, they would have. I heard groans of pain scattered across the room.

I lifted my head and reached out for the lamp. When I moved my arm, I felt a sharp pain shoot through it. It must have been broken. I continued to reach out for the lap, this time with my other arm. I felt the same pain as before, but worse. My arm hurt so much that I jumped and fell onto my back. I heard an unsettling click and felt another staggering pain, only this time it short up my back, hitting the back of my neck. The room went blank.

This time, when I woke up, I heard voices. They were strong and confident sounding, and they were close. I opened my eyes to see where I was. It seemed exactly the same as the last room, but there was a small window at the opposite end. There were cold looking metal bars across the window, stopping anybody from breaking the clouded glass. The window brought in more light than before, so I could see the bodies scattered across the room. Most of them were still, but I could see and hear their hearts beating, so I knew they were still alive.

"What about this one?" One of the voices asked. The saw a tall figure, male, walk over towards me, but stop at the young looking person in front of me. They were small and delicate looking, and female. The light was reflecting off of her face, enabling me to see her expression. She looked scared. Her face was full of panic, which I presumed mine was too.

"She looks pale, I want someone fresh!"

I then realised that they were Strigoi, and that they were deciding who to eat for their breakfast, or lunch, or dinner – I had no clue! The window only showed me that there was a little light outside, but it was summer and most of the day was sunny.

The man walked over to the small girl in front of me and picked her up by her arms. She looked like she was in great pain.

"Yeah, I see what you mean. We'll leave her for the others, later on." The Strigoi dropped her, and I heard her bash against the cold, hard stone floor.

The Strigoi continued walking in my direction and it wasn't until he picked my up, that I realised what he was doing.

"How about this one? She looks nice."

"Back off!" I growled back.

The Strigoi looked at me, with a look of astonishment on his face.

"She can talk?" he asked the other.

"Of course I can talk, idiot!" I said, getting quieter towards the end.

The Strigoi, who I could now see was a man, looked at me and narrowed his eyes.

"Three days of no food, water, or communication and she still has the energy to speak. Maybe she should stay in here for a little longer, let her feel the pain that she deserves." He announced cruelly.

He dropped me onto the hard floor.

"Ow!" I yelled at him. "Watch it!" he looked angry at me. I pushed myself back and he continued looking at me until the other Strigoi said "Well, someone seems a little temperamental." I growled at him, unaware that I was doing it until he walked over to me and slapped me across the face – and it hurt, a lot!

Using all the energy I had, I stood up and threw the best punch I could directly at his face. I decided that if I was going to go down, I wouldn't without putting up a fight. The Strigoi caught my arm and twisted my wrist until it clicked. Wow, it seemed as if everything about me was breaking. I stopped trying to attack and sat down again, only to be lifted up by the Strigoi and carried out, being uncomfortably dragged by my sore wrist.

He pulled me across a dark corridor, and stopped by another metal door.

"Okay, here's how it is, little dhampir." I sobbed as I remembered Adrian calling me little dhampir.

"If you can't behave in there, we'll put you in with someone more suited to your habits. He'll definitely give you something to do before . . ." he stopped.

I felt him lift me up by the arms again, as he unlocked the door and threw me in. I was beginning to grow tired of being thrown around. I heard the door lock again behind me. Damn, no chance of him forgetting.

I looked around me and saw the shadow of a person in the corner of the room. They stood up and started walking towards me.

"Trust you to be the one locked up in here with me, Roza" I heard in a familiar Russian accent.


	2. Sleep Talking

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from 'Vampire Academy' – they all belong to Richelle Mead. **

Please review. Send to your friends and ask them to review too!

Dimitri's POV

On arrival, I had watched them throw the unconscious girls into a dark room. I watched them throw Rose, my Rose. The anger had built up in me so much that I acted out, throwing a hard punch into the face of the closest Strigoi. I caught them by surprise and when they turned to directly face me, I hit them again. They fell to the ground and I stood there, looking towards the girl's room. They had just locked the door, meaning I couldn't see her anymore. Two Strigoi came up behind me and knocked me to the ground, tying something around my arms and legs so that I couldn't move.

I growled but they didn't release me. Soon enough, they threw me into my own cell and left me tied up. I tried getting free but it didn't work. So, I just lay there, feeling more useless than I ever had before. I thought about Rose. And then fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was still tied up. I had no idea of how long I had been sleeping. I rolled over and felt a shooting pain in my back. I had slept in a very bad position. Then, the last thing that I was expecting, I felt something in my pocket. I twisted my arms around so that I cold check what it was and slipped my fingers into my pocket. When I brought my hand out, I saw my stake. Wow, they must have been stupid to leave me with that, they were about to find out about the big mistake that they had made. I used the stake to untie myself and stood up. My body felt free as I did so.

I saw a stool in the corner of the room and sat on it, planning my escape. I knew that before I cold leave, I have to get Roza, whether I survived that or not didn't matter as long as Roza was safe.

Hours passed in absolute silence. The creaking sound of the metal door opening made me look up. Who was it? I nearly laughed when I saw who they had put in to join me.

"Trust you to be the one locked up in here with me, Roza" I said, briefly chuckling.

I saw her turn her head sharply, and she stood up. She was looking at me in shock.

"Dimitri? Is that you?" she asked curiously.

"Who else is it going to be?" I said, smiling.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" She ran over to me and wrapped her arms around my chest. I inhaled her sweet scent and hugged her back.

"I'm fine, Roza. What about you? Did they hurt you?" She sobbed and unwrapped her arms.

"I'm fine now that I'm with you." I smiled and I replied.  
"Isn't that a bit cheesy for you, of all people, to be saying?"

She threw a joke punch into my stomach and I heard her chuckling. I leant in and planted a passionate kiss onto her lips. She kissed me back with desperation and pure love. "I love you, Roza" I said.

She looked up, into my eyes. "I love you too, Comrade"

We spent what felt like hours explaining to each other what had happened and telling each other how much we loved each other.

"But how did you survive? I saw that Strigoi bite you." She said caringly.

"Yes, he did bite me, but I heard them saying that I was a good fighter and that they could use me as a Strigoi." She straightened up immediately and looked as though she was going to hit someone.

"What?! How could they? You would rather be dead than Strigoi! And I won't let them do that to you, you'll stay with me, as a dhampir because I love you and we still have a life to live together!" she shouted.

I was shocked. She really did want to spend the rest of her life with me. "But Roza, you know that we can't. We have to be guardians."

"Yes, but we can still be around each other as Lissa's guardians. Oh my god!"

"What is it Roza? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But I need to sleep."

"What? What are you on about? We shouldn't be sleeping; we should be planning our escape, together!"

"I need to speak to Adrian!"

"Oh yeah" I said sarcastically "speaking to the flirty royal who is in love with you will really help!" I hadn't meant to sound so judgemental and harsh, but Adrian made me angry. She always wanted to talk to him.

"Dimitri!" she gasped. "How can you say that? Adrian is an ass! He's immature and has a crush on me. It doesn't mean that I return the feelings! And I sure as hell don't! I love you"

I had no idea what had come over me.

"I'm so sorry Roza; I didn't mean to upset you. For a moment then I just couldn't control myself."

Her face straightened again and I sighed.

"I am truly sorry, love."

"It's okay. I just need to tell him that we are alive and see if they can help us."

I kissed her on the lips, just short and sweet, and then she walked over to the darker end of the cell.

"Watch me, will you? I don't want anybody coming in and taking me again."

"Of course, I would never take my eyes off you in your sleep."

And with that, she fell asleep.

Whilst she was asleep, I kept my eyes on her. I heard her mutter my name a few times and it made me smile. But I became suddenly furious, as I had earlier, when I heard her mutter a different name.

"Adrian . . . I love you . . . Adrian"

What?! She loved Adrian? The same Adrian that just hours ago she had called an immature ass? My face tightened and I turned around and punched the wall. It hurt like hell but I had to do something and I feared that if I hadn't hit the wall, I would have hit her. I stood up, turned around and started running round the cell, trying to use as much energy as possible. Usually I would oppose to this, but energy just made me angrier.

I stopped running and went over to the door. I could see shadows from under the door, and heard voice. Two of them, but one was a girl. Usually I heard male Strigoi's.

"Galina, she's in there with the skilled guardian. They didn't fight like I thought they would, I think that they are in love. But I'll be surprised if he hasn't tried to kill her yet, he overheard her dreaming."

"What are you talking about, Nathan?"

"She said that she loves someone else in her sleep. And he didn't sound too pleased about it."

"Well well well . . . It looks like he could be of more use to use then we thought."

They went quiet for a few moments and then continued.

"I think that once we've turned him, he might be able to help us turn her. She is also skilled." The female said.

Wait, what was her name? Galina?

That was the name of my old instructor, she was Strigoi! And she wanted to turn me into one too. I didn't want to be Strigoi, even if it was go get Rose back for what she said. They must have left because by the time I started listening again, it was silent.

I heard rustling from the other side of the room and Rose sat up, looking at me sleepily.

"Hey" she said

I turned away from her and stood by the door.

"Hello? I am here you know" she sounded slightly curious and I presumed that it was because I was ignoring her.

I continued to ignore her and I heard her stand up and walk over to me.

"Are you okay? Why are you ignoring me?"

I turned and faced her. "I think that you know the answer to that yourself. If not, why don't you fall asleep again and carry on talking about how much you love your precious Adrian!"

"What?!" she sounded angry.


	3. Escape

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from 'Vampire Academy' – they all belong to Richelle Mead. **

Please review. Send to your friends and ask them to review too!

Author's Note: Sorry that chapter is so short, but I've just started my exams. 9 G.C.S.E's in the next 3 weeks! I will try to update soon, but I can't think of much so if you have any ideas, please PM me and I can update sooner.

Thanks and I hope you enjoy it! Btw to anyone who has read Spirit Bound, PM me and tell me what you thought of it!

Rose's POV

"What?" I shouted.

Did he just say, my precious Adrian? Really? Where did that come from?

"You heard me! I heard you talking in your sleep."

"I have no idea what you are talking about!"

"Oh Rose, don't play games with me. I heard you and there is nothing that you can say to excuse yourself!"

I didn't know what to say. I know that I didn't love Adrian, sure he's my friend, but I love Dimitri. I would never say such a thing. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. I looked up at him and expected that he had already put on his guardian mask and had calmed himself down. But he hadn't.

His face was a bright shade of scarlet and he looked like he was going to, I don't know, explode!

"Dimitri," I said, trying to calm him down. Although inside, I knew that I was trying to reassure myself that he wasn't going to do something that he would later regret.

"Please, Dimitri. We can talk through this; straighten it out."

"No"

What? No? What was he saying?

"What do you mean?"

His nostrils flared.

"I mean that I am done. With you, with all of this."

This?

I was speechless. What was he talking about?

Suddenly, I heard a noise. Someone was opening the door.

A young girl, about 20, walked in holding a tray. This was strange. We hadn't gotten room service before.

I glanced over to her, checking out what was on the tray. Although I should have been concerned about Dimitri, the food looked so appealing. All of a sudden a shadow rose above her from behind.

I looked around, terrified to find that the shadow was infact, Dimitri.

No!

I lunged forward and pushed the girl out of the way, but I was a second too late.

He smashed into her, landing on top of her. I saw him sink his teeth into the girls pale skin.

"Dimitri! Stop it! No!"

I tried to pull him off of her but he wouldn't budge. I could feel him grow stronger as he drained her life away.

"No!" I cried.

He dropped her lifeless body and turned to me.

He was different. His gorgeous tan skin had gone pale and his luxurious brown eyes were surrounded with red rings.

He was Strigoi.

I faltered and stepped back, bumping into a hard wall.

He stepped towards me, sizing me up.

Suddenly, I felt furious. No! He hadn't!

I kicked him in the stomach with all of my energy. His body flew backwards into the opposite wall. I was surprised with myself that I had actually been able to do that.

Taking what I knew would be my only opportunity; I rushed out of the door and turned right. I could remember being dragged here from my last room. When I reached another door, I stopped. There were two turnings. I looked left, it was pitch black. The walls looked hard and cold, and extremely painful to be thrown in to. I looked right and saw that these walls were exactly the same, although there was a dim, flickering light strung from the ceiling. I decided to go right, at least this way I could see more of where I was going.

As I turned, I could hear a door being slammed back. Dimitri was out. And he was after me.

I sprinted forward and fortunately, there was only two more turnings, both of which I turned right. I didn't know why, but it felt right once I had gone past. Eventually, I saw a glimmer of light, not a lamp, but natural light.

I ran towards it, clenching my aching stomach. I was nearly there, and once I was out, I was safe. But something was missing. As I approached my escape, I realised what as my nauseous feeling came over me. I hadn't passed any Strigoi.

I could sense about four by the doorway.

Just as I thought, as I went around a corner, four looming shadows cast over me. I threw myself into the first one, forcing all of my anger and frustration into some very powerful punches. The Strigoi dropped, and I kicked once more just for presentation.

I approached the next one and threw myself at it again. Although I didn't have the element of surprise or as much energy as I had before, my anger pushed me on.

After finishing off the first two, I look around just to find that the other two had fled. Serves them right, I thought. I knew that Dimitri would be close by now; even if I had lost him I'm sure that he would be close by now.

I ran towards the light and jumped into the outdoors. As I leaped, I felt something grab onto my ankle. It wretched me back into the darkness. Damn!

I kicked backwards, hoping to catch them by surprise, giving me just enough time to get out. The kick worked, and I leaped.

As I did, I saw another shadow approach me. But this figure wasn't running towards me, they had stopped and were looking at me deeply, their eyes filled with anger.

"You'll regret this!" I shouted to Dimitri.

"I loved you and you did this to me!"

After having so little food and water, and then this escape, I was so tired. I blacked out.


	4. Amnesia

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from 'Vampire Academy' – they all belong to Richelle Mead. **

I'm sorry that I haven't updated in so long – I've been very busy. How have your summers been? I'm hoping to update more often from now on.

I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Rose's POV

I heard beeping and soft, solitary sounds. It sounded peaceful – wherever I was. When I tried to open my eyes, they wouldn't. It was like being stuck in a room, pitch black. I tried again and again but to my dismay, it wouldn't work. _What's going on?_ I thought to myself.

A few moments later, I heard voices. They sounded close. I listened harder to see if I could recognise any of them, but they weren't familiar. I think two, both female, people were in the room. One of their voices was high pitched, kind of squeaky, and the other was quite deep. They were talking about someone they'd recently admitted into the hospital. Right, so I was in a hospital. One step closer to finding out what the hell was going on!

"Yeah, she was out cold by the old petrol station. I arrived with the paramedics; they say about twenty minutes after the accident."

"Really? Do they have any idea who did this to her yet?"

"No, I haven't heard anything. They said that they will contact me if they find anything. They also want me to call when she wakes up. They want to ask her if she remembers anything."

_Remembers anything? _I thought. Why wouldn't I remember anything? I know where I was, what I was doing, who I was trying to get away from . . . Dimitri. How could I have not thought about it sooner? He tried to kill me – he broke my heart right in front of me. I would never forgive him. Although I did love him; and something had to have happened to strike him with such rage. I knew it then. I was going to have to kill him; strike a stake through his heart.

Just the thought of doing such a thing made my mind wobble. I couldn't, not to him. Maybe I could speak to him. Just maybe.

The nurses had left by the time I rejoined the conversation. It looked like I wasn't going to get anything else out of them.

I relaxed my mind and tried to sleep – maybe Adrian would visit my dreams again.

Adrian!

That was it. He could help me to find out what happened. Maybe he knew. I fell asleep quickly.

He didn't visit, ever. I waited weeks to hear from him, but nothing. Eventually, I gave up trying, although there wasn't much else for me to do. I spent most days imagining what my surroundings looked like, since I still couldn't see anything. There were occasional highlights though, such as new voices.

Speaking of, what felt like a few weeks after I gave up on Adrian, a new voice came.

A deep, rustled voice. It was familiar, as if I had heard it in a dream. He visited me often, once a day maybe.

Whenever he came in, I knew it was him before he spoke because I could smell his aftershave.

"Good Evening." He would say at the beginning of every visit. Why did he only visit in the evening? Maybe he had tight work hours?

He paused, as if he was hoping for a response. Nothing.

"So, I heard that you are really stable now. They said that you should wake up any day. In fact, they don't know why you haven't already."

He stopped again.

"I know it's my fault. But I tried; I tried to stop loving you. Even in that moment; the worst moment of my life; I couldn't. It's like we are drawn together. You have to wake up, for me."

Silence.

"I know you can hear me"

I could feel his gaze on me and felt uncomfortable knowing that someone was looking at me.

A few moments later, he stood up. I relaxed, believing that he was finally leaving.

All of a sudden, I felt desperate lips on mine. I shuddered. They were cold. Then, he left.

Hundreds of questions rushed up on me. The first being:

"Who was that?"

And just like that, the sound of his voice made me forget everything.


	5. Watch Your Back!

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from 'Vampire Academy' – they all belong to Richelle Mead. **

I'm sorry that I haven't updated in so long – I've been very busy. I didn't realise it had been quite so long since I last updated. I hope you enjoy this chapter, as it has taken me quite a while to write. Please comment on what you think because I find your replies really helpful and sometimes they inspire me further on in the story.

Rose's POV

The evening after my visit from a familiar stranger, I woke up.

The room was white, everything was white. It was so bright that I had to close my eyes and open them slowly in order for me to be able to see anything. When I could finally open my eyes properly, I looked around the room, scanning my surroundings. The door was to the right of the bed, it was open only slightly, just enough for someone to slip through without waking a sleeping person. Opposite the door was a small window. As it was now dark outside, no light was coming in, so a small white curtain was draped across it. My bed was in the middle of the room, and it was the only one. I had a room to myself.

The next thing that I had to do was to find out what was wrong with me. Why had I slept for so long? Why couldn't I wake up? Why was I here? Where was I?

At the end of my bed, a small clipboard hung with a pen beside it. I crawled across the bed and grabbed the clipboard. The first sheet of paper stated my name and date of admission. I had been here for over a month. And nobody had come for me? Great. Anyway, I flipped the sheet and read the next page. It said that I was in a temporary coma due to severe stress and some minor head injuries. Come to think of it, my head was pounding. I continued to read their interpretation of what had happened to me; but I couldn't tell if it was right or not. I simply couldn't remember. The next sheet of paper held the list of visitors that I had received and when. There was only one name, over and over, and one time: 2:30. They had visited every night. The voice returned to my head, how he said that he couldn't stop loving me. Why couldn't I remember?

I decided to leave. I couldn't do anything from this bed.

I flung me legs over the side of the bed and looked around again. There was a small wooden table beside the bed, holding an old lamp, a glass of water and a pen. The lamp was switched on. I briefly wondered why there would be a pen on my bedside table. I continued to study the old piece of furniture. The table contained one tiny draw, but no handle. It must have fallen off. When I had finished looking at the desk, I decided to take a sip of the water. My throat was so dry I was sure that if I tried to speak, I would sound like a frog. What started as a small sip ended up being the whole glass. Wow I really had been thirsty. I put the glass down and stood up. I must have not done this for ages because as soon as I did I got a major head rush and stumbled. I quickly reached out with my hands, trying to catch my balance. I managed to grab onto the corner of the table without knocking off the lamp or the glass, but the pen fell down the back. I decided not to go straight after it as I knew that I would just fall. Besides, it wasn't going to be of much use to me in the mean time. I lay back down on my bed and closed my eyes. I was suddenly feeling tired again. A few minutes of sleep wouldn't do any damage. As I began to fall asleep I noticed a clock directly opposite my bed. It was 11:15pm.

The sound of a woman's voice woke me. It was one of the nurses, I recognised her. But I didn't dare open my eyes or show any sign that I was or had been awake. I didn't want a swarm of people around me. Besides, I still had to make a plan to escape. The thought of the word shot a funny picture through my mind. A dark cave? A tunnel, maybe? I wasn't too sure. I didn't remember. The nurse must have been just checking on me because she left fairly soon after I woke up. I heard her open the door and I opened one eye. The room was empty, apart from me of course. I sat up and flung me legs over the side of the bed as I had done earlier. I glanced at the clock. It was 2 o'clock. There was still no light coming in through the window so I presumed that it was 2am. When I tried to stand this time, I didn't feel dizzy. I stretched out my arms and legs, feeling the best I had since I had woken up. I looked around, scanning the room again. When I caught sight of the desk, I realised that my empty glass was still there and the pen hadn't been returned. That reminded me. I turned to the desk and walked to the side of it. I crouched down and looked behind it, sliding the table out enough to be able to see behind it. The pen wasn't on the floor; it had fallen into a small compartment. I tried to pull out the compartment, but it wouldn't move, so I pushed it. It moved forward and into the table. I put the desk back into its original position and moved to the front of it. The draw was sticking out of the front, just enough for me to be able to see inside. I pulled it out and found two things. Right at the back was the pen. It must have fallen into the back of it. I also saw a small dark blue notebook underneath it, tucked into the corner. I picked them both up and closed the draw, quickly checking that there was nothing else in there. It was empty. I stood up and sat on the bed. I put the pen on to the table and opened up the first page of the book:_Rosa,_

I turned the page: I am writing this to show you how much I care, and how much I regret the decision that I irresponsibly made. You are my life and I was selfish to take away the only thing that I could provide for you. I miss you. I visit everyday and write this whilst observing your peaceful rest and occasionally hearing you mutter words in the depth of your sleep. The nurses thought it was a sign that you are beginning to wake, but I assured them that it's always been something that you have done. I would know. I know that you're awake. Or at the very least you can hear the nurses, and me, when I visit. I notice your heart speed up when I speak and I can tell that you're deep in thought. If you can hear my voice, why won't you wake to see me? I have to go for now, but remember that I will return, everyday until you wake. If you don't forgive me, I'll never forgive myself.

There were many more pages, some describing how his day had been and some talking about the past. There were even a few talking about the future. They were each different and unique, but they always ended in the same way: "If you don't forgive me, I'll never forgive myself." I began to panic. I know that his messages were sensitive and caring, but they scared me. I didn't even know who this person was, or myself for that matter, and they knew what seemed to be everything about me. He spoke of our past and our future. I wasn't even sure of my present. I'd taken my time reading through the notebook and was just pages in when I realised something. I should have realised before, the times. I put the notebook on the table and got up and walked to the end of the bed, looking at the clock in the process. It was 2:20. I picked up the clipboard and flipped the page. The same name repeated…. Dimitri Belikov. And the same time: 2:30. Every day…

I dropped the clipboard and ran to the window. I pushed it open and breathed in the fresh air. I also shivered when a gust of cold window blew in. I looked down at what I was wearing; a hospital nightgown. Brilliant. There were no other items of clothing that I could see so I just had to make do. I only had ten minutes to come up with a plan to get out without being seen by anybody. I climbed up onto the window frame and jumped out. My feet landed on concrete. When I looked around, I could see a few streetlights scattered around and the reflection of the light in the windows and mirrors of cars. I was in a car park, most likely the hospitals. I was near the edge of the lot so I pulled myself together and started to walk towards the row of trees and bushes at the side. As I reached them I heard the sound of a car pulling into the car park. I ducked into the hidden bushes at the base of a tree and pulled myself up onto a branch. I was surprisingly strong considering how little I had done recently. I was about half way up the tree when I stopped on a branch that looked and felt strong enough to hold my weight, and looked down into the car park. A black jeep pulled up into a space in the corner of the car park. It was hidden by the shadows of the trees. Unfortunately for me, it was also being covered by the shadow of the tree that I was hiding in. A tall thin figure elegantly climbed out of the car and started walking towards the doors of the hospital. It may have been him, I wasn't sure.

I saw him walk into the hospitals front room and then I lost sight of him. This was my chance, I thought. I jumped out of the tree and landed on the ground. I took one last look into the window that I had jumped out of just as he entered the room. I hesitated for a moment, the familiar image of him with white pale skin and red ringed eyes startled me. He looked shocked and after grabbing something from the table (the notebook I suspected) he turned and began to run towards the front desk.

I turned and started to run into a field behind the rows of trees. I noticed a problem, there was no hiding places, no cover. I felt very vulnerable. And my instinct told me that he wasn't looking for me just so that he could see me again, something told me that he was angry, and wanted revenge.

I'd begun to run through the field and after just a few moments, I looked back just to check that he wasn't following me. There was nobody. I slowed down to a walk, keeping my head turned towards the car park as a precaution. I mean it wasn't like I was going to walk into anything in a field. I was wrong. I stumbled and then turned to see what had caused me to trip. There he was, standing over me, smiling.


	6. Desperate for Answers

A/N: To all of the readers of this story, I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I've been through quite a lot in the last few months and it has been fairly difficult to adjust. But anyway, I'm on track now and have got the next few chapters planned already. I'm in exam week now but I hope that I'll be able to update every couple of days or so. Won't be able to this weekend, but after that I'm all yours! (Apart from school of course but that doesn't take up much time at the moment). I'll do as much writing as I can but there may be a time again where I struggle to extend the storyline so if anyone has anything they want me to add, or any improvements or just general comments please do because they are the best way of helping me to write more and they inspire me to update more often. I hope that you enjoy this chapter, apologies that it is short but I wanted to have this chapter then follow with a longer one. Enjoy!

Rhia xx

DISCLAIMER: THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY SERIES DOES NOT BELONG TO ME, IT BELONGS TO RICHELLE MEAD!

Dimitri's POV

I could tell from the way that she was looking at me that I had made a really big mistake. I honestly didn't know what had come over me but it was those actions that would haunt me for the rest of my life. I had to regain her trust, but there was very little that I could do to make her look at me in the same way that she did. Even as a Strigoi, my feelings for her had not changed, and I was going to do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.

I had tried to rationalise what I had done, but there was no excuse, and now I had lost her forever. I then tried to amend my behaviour by making a new start. I visited her every day in the little care unit that was down the road from the main hospital. I had to visit her during the night, as I knew that I couldn't go out during the day; an advantage of this being that there were very few employees around at that hour. When I was with her, I would spend hours at a time watching her sleeping peacefully. I would write to her so that she could see how much she still meant to me, and I'd talk to her so that she wouldn't forget my voice. The nurses told me that there was very little chance that she would remember anything, and that I shouldn't get my hopes up. But obviously I was the only one to notice how her heartbeat quickened every time she heard my voice. I knew that she was awake; she may not be able to open her eyes and speak, but she could hear everything, and she knew that I was here.

Immediately after the incident in the caves, I left to find a home for myself. I would have ended it right there and then, but I had seen how determined some of the Strigoi were to get to her, so I knew that it was my job to protect her. The question was, would she let me close enough to her to be able to do that? It didn't matter; if she wouldn't let me in, I would watch her from a distance.

She had been in the coma for three weeks, but I was determined to visit her every day. If she was going to progress, even in the slightest bit, I was going to be there to see her, and encourage her in every way that I could. She showed no signs of progress, until I visited early one morning at the end of October. I arrived, as usual, promptly at 2:30am and went up to the reception desk. The usual employee was on her shift and she just nodded at me as a signal that I could go through. She was a short and fragile looking woman, maybe late 40's. She had short brown hair, nothing like Rose's, as it hung drowsily down to her shoulders rather than being naturally gorgeous.

I went through to her room, pausing in shock when I realised that she wasn't in her bed, as she usually was. I looked around the room to see if maybe she had gotten up but there was no sign of her. I spun on my feet and headed back out to the reception desk, quickly grabbing my notebook. I noticed that it wasn't in its usual hiding place which meant that someone had read it. And I was willing to bet anything that it was her. I brought her absence to the nurse's attention, and she just looked at me with a puzzled expression. She stood up and before she could reach the door of Rose's room I was out of the building. My timing had been fortunate, as it was that exact moment that I got outside when I saw her hobbling away from the tree that shadowed over my truck. She must have been hiding, which meant that she did remember, and she was still scared of me. Using my speed, I ran after her, taking care that she didn't see me as I didn't want her to panic and hurt herself. She turned her head to look behind her, probably checking to see if she was being followed. As she did, I passed her and stopped in front of her, causing her to run into me and fall backwards. I smiled at the expression of surprise that she made when she bumped in to me. She landed on the ground, fairly gently, and looked up at me.

Her next expression told me that I couldn't even attempt to apologise to her now, as I could tell that she would either scream or attack me, most likely the second. She looked terrified. I had expected anger, but she was actually scared of me. In the spur of the moment I decided that I would take her back to my house and try to explain myself to her; try to convince her that I would never hurt her; not again.

Knowing that she would never go with me without putting up a fight, I quickly injected her with a sedative that I had acquired when collecting medical supplies for my house. I wasn't going to need them, but I had a feeling that they would be necessary in a situation with Roza. I chuckled slightly with the memory of her putting up a fight when she didn't want something. I was positive that this would have no negative consequences after it had worn off. I had done my research. I was hesitant to do this, knowing that it was wrong to take somebody without their consent, and I was aware that it sounding like kidnapping, but she wasn't safe out in the open in a place like a hospital. It would be too easy for one of the Strigoi to find her, and I was sure that it wouldn't be long before they started looking for her in all of the right places. So I had to at least make sure that she was safe, even if she thought that in being near me she was in danger.

Her whole body relaxed and I caught her before her head reached the ground. I picked her up and carried her back to my truck, laying her across the backseat. After making sure that she was comfortable and that she wasn't going to fall over when the car started, I climbed into the front seat and began the drive home.

It took a couple of hours to reach the border of the forest, and I was grateful as the suns first rays were beginning to show. With the cover of the trees, I could complete the journey without having to stop. It took about an hour from there to reach the house. It was more of a cabin, that I had built myself during the time that she was unconscious. I had stocked up the house so that anybody could live here, knowing that she would want food even though I didn't actually eat it. A field of guilt ran over me again as I regretted my actions. I had spent the whole time in her absence learning to control myself, and my determination to explain myself to her must have enabled me to keep some of my own personality. But there were some things that even I couldn't escape, and it wouldn't be long before I had to return to civilisation to fulfil my needs.

I carried her out of the car and into the house, laying her down in the bedroom. On entering the house, the living room was to my right, the kitchen and bathroom to my immediate left and then a small bedroom behind the kitchen. After setting her down, I quickly made my way round the house closing and blocking all of the windows to prevent the light from coming through. I locked all windows and doors, and then settled on the sofa to rest.

It didn't take her long, after half an hour she was making noise and sounding as if she was waking. I remained on the sofa, keeping my senses aimed in her direction, as I was very aware that she would quickly realise that we were alone and she would try to attack me.

She quietly walked into the room, obviously wondering what was happening. She was on the offense and was preparing to attack me. Just as I heard her leap forwards, I grabbed her arms and pushed her down onto the sofa, landing in a position that gave me more strength then she had. I could feel her shuffling beneath me, trying to release herself. I was expecting this, and just waited until she relaxed. She stopped trying to escape after about ten minutes, but she didn't relax. She was still ready to move if she needed to. Knowing that she would try to make her escape, I released her, preparing to hold her down if she tried to get out of the house. Just as I suspected, she made a move towards the door and I prepared to react, however all of the time away from her meant that I wasn't as familiar with her moves as I had once been, and so her double take took me by surprise. She aimed a kick towards my head and knocked me back against the wall. That's my Roza! I thought.

Even in her weak condition, she was always ready to fight. She was also ready to talk, finally realising that she didn't have a next move. However her question was what surprised me.

"Who are you?" she asked, trying not to let her fear leak into her voice.

I stared at her, speechless. Maybe the nurses were right, I thought. It felt strange being in a room with someone I loved so much, but being seen as a stranger in return.

She repeated her question, holding her stance and allowing more of her strength to show in her voice, as she realised that I wasn't as confident as I should be.

"Who are you?"

"Dimitri. I'm a friend" I said, almost defensively. I wasn't usually lacking in self-confidence but I knew that if she felt threatened she would attack.

"No" she replied in a cold voice.

I didn't know how to reply so I remained quiet, watching her as she watched me, desperate for answers.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As I say, sorry it's so short but I just wanted to get this "middle ground" done so that I can continue with the story. In response to the comment by PrincessRedfern , after so much time between writing these chapters, I read through the story again and definitely agree with you, Dimitri was very out of character. I've done my best to try to return him to his normal self but as I'm sure you can understand it's quite difficult. I hope you like what I have done with the story, as there aren't too many options of where to go with it: P Please let me know what you think. And thank you to russianlover17, 7VampireEclipse, Speaking-the-Truth (Anonymous), x-shadow-x-kisses-x, LoveLiesAndLust, alexa (Anonymous), HPmadness12, ChellaVampa, BETTI (Anonymous), ZippyGal, my 2 guys, Terisa Nicole (Anonymous), (Anonymous), LissasGuardian756 and PrincessRedfern so so much for reviewing my story. It's very encouraging to know that people are reading it, and it's nice to receive constructive criticism. So THANK YOU! :D xxxx


	7. Running

**A/N: **Hey I updated :D I hope you like the chapter; I've been working on it for several hours. It's longer than the last one, but I want your opinions. Do you think it's long enough? Too long? Too short? Let me know what you think. Thank you.

Rhia xx

Rose's POV

Just because he told me that he was my friend, didn't mean that I was going to trust him. Every instinct I had was telling me that he was dangerous and untrustworthy. Just looking at him I could see from his eyes, his skin, that he wasn't what you would call normal. But there was still something inside of me that felt relieved having him around, it must have been wrong, I mean I had just spent month's unconscious so it must be having some effect on me. Maybe I just missed human company.

It must have been hours before either one of us showed any sign of moving. I was still on the offense, refusing to back up from him. There was no way that he was going to try to control me, and if he tried, I wouldn't hesitate to go complete Rose and take him down. I could feel that I was strong, and I wasn't scared of showing it. But I was curious. Who was he? When I had asked him he just looked up at me with an expression that I could only describe as shock. He looked surprised that I had asked this question, and he made no attempt to respond. He just stood there, looking at me.

He began to move, only slightly, and very occasionally. It almost looked like he was trying to hide it, like he was trying to cover up a weakness. As time passed these movements turned into trembles, and he began to look uncomfortable. I wasn't sure what was happening, but I felt even more uncomfortable than I had before. A mixture of explanations came into my mind, Werewolf maybe? No, of course not that was ridiculous. But I let my mind wonder, always keeping alert. I began to feel tired and, knowing that I had no other choice; I tried to let signs of this show. He hadn't hurt me so far, and I knew that I couldn't trust this but I wanted to be alone so that I could figure out what to do. After a few moments, he moved across the room. I turned with him, keeping an eye on him at all times. He sat on the sofa and finally spoke.

"You should sleep. You haven't rested properly in nearly twelve hours"

And he knew this how? Of course, he had to know more about me than I did him, otherwise this whole abduction thing wouldn't have made sense to either of us. He knew me, who I was and what I was like, but I didn't know him. I felt vulnerable in this situation. He was in my memory, but unfortunately that wasn't exactly switched on at the moment. I had to find a way to unlock it, to find out who he really is and whether or not I should trust these impressions of him that I kept seeing. My eyes flashed up to the room with the bed, suggesting that I wanted to sleep. He followed my gaze and replied.

"Sleep in there, I'll stay out here"

Knowing that I didn't have any choice, I walked through, keeping my sense peeled and ready in case he suddenly changed his tactics. Nothing. I closed the door and sat with my back against it, looking up at the bed. There was no way in hell that I was going there again. I remained by the door and tried to let my mind rest so that I would be able to concentrate. I searched the room, looking for anything that could be of use to me. I may not have my memory, but I had my instincts. And they were telling me that I needed a plan. There was no furniture, apart from the bed, and that was metal, meaning that I couldn't make a weapon. A small window in the top corner of the room allowed the smallest bit of light into the room around the block that had been put over it. I wanted to go over to the window and look through it, but I didn't want to leave the door so I stayed.

Twenty minutes later, my exhaustion was catching up with me. I hadn't slept properly since the hospital, and I hadn't had a lot of time since waking up in order to get used to my surroundings. I hadn't had time to wake up properly. I was still weak, and the recent turn of events had left me exhausted. I was pretty sure that people just released (or broken out of) hospital were supposed to rest in order to gain their energy, rather than relying on adrenaline bursts. Without realising, I began to drift off.

I woke up. The room was completely dark, apart from the little window which was letting in the smallest glimmer of light, much less than before. I stood up and walked over to it, curious to see what was there. I ripped off the black cover and smiled in the early morning light. It must have been very early, because the sun wasn't completely up yet, just the first few rays. It felt good to see sunlight. I was quickly pulled back into reality when I remembered when I was. I froze, listening for a sign of where he was, Dimitri was it? I heard nothing. I walked up to the door and pressed my ear to it, still nothing. Slowly, and very carefully, I turned the door handle and opened the door just a tiny bit. Enough to see that there was nobody in the living room. I opened the door slightly further and slipped through it, trying to make as little noise as possible. I didn't want him to know that I was awake. I must have been asleep all day, since I remember the bright sunshine before I fell asleep.

I silently stepped through the small house, checking every corner before I turned it. There was nobody here, I was alone. I relaxed ever so slightly, for the first time in a long time. I walked towards the kitchen. I couldn't ignore my human callings. I opened the fridge and smiled when I saw food. I was starving. I grabbed the first things that I could get my hands on; fruit, fruit and more fruit. I looked in the fridge again but the only other thing in there was a tray of vegetables. My smile dropped. Whoever this guy was, he sure liked to eat healthy. I didn't want something healthy, I wanted something good. Despite this, I ate two apples and a banana, not knowing when I would eat again. I drew the line at vegetables, I wasn't that desperate and I had never been one to eat my greens. I returned the rest of the food and saw a small chocolate bar in the side compartment. My smile stretched, and I grabbed the chocolate and gobbled it up without a second thought.

As I sat in the kitchen, pondering what to do next, I saw a small note on the table: _Don't leave._

Yeah, like that was going to stop me. It was early morning and I had to get going. I probably should have checked the house for anything that I could have taken with me but I just wanted to leave, so I ran to the front door. It was locked. I stepped back and tried to find a solution. It was a long shot, but I lifted the mat by the door. Damn no key. I'll admit it was a little obvious, but I was desperate. I quickly scanned the small house, thinking of places where a normal person would hide a key. I checked the window ledges, under the rugs, behind the sofa cushions but with no luck. Then I thought, this guy knows me, so he's going to hide the key somewhere I won't look for it. My eyes ran back to the fridge and I opened it, pulling out the vegetable tray. Something dropped to the floor and, replacing the tray, I looked down to see a small triangular key on the floor. I smiled, smart but not smart enough, I thought. I picked up the key; it was so cold from being in the fridge. I put it into the lock and turned it, holding my breath. I heard a click, and then another one and then the door opened outwards. I smiled again. With a quite look out of the door, I stepped outside. The house was in a small clearing, and it looked like the only thing for miles. A very green forest emerged from about ten metres out from the house. It looked thick, almost like a jungle. I stepped away from the house and then turned back to look at it.

Something inside of me lit up. I'd been here before. It was strange because the forest hadn't looked familiar at all, in fact I didn't remember ever being this deep into a forest, but the cabin did look familiar, right down to the colour of the wood. A dream-like effect took over and I heard voices. My vision clouded, and I saw two people, wrestling into the cabin ahead of me.

"We can make this easy or difficult" It was him, his voice, and his body. But he looked different than he did now, he looked normal. He was basically carrying her into the cabin, but she was resisting. "If you can accept that, I'll release you. If you bolt, you know I'll just restrain you again." I recognised his voice. The sounds were faded, like I was watching the conversation through a foggy window. I could see the other figure fight against their own will, as if they were forcing themselves to calm, and seconds later, they did. They relaxed, although it looked familiar; as if they were giving in, but far from relaxed. It was as if they knew what they were going to do, and they were just biding their time. "Okay" Wait. This wasn't his voice. "So we're going to the med clinic?" Another familiar voice, a girl. "You have to let me go" She was begging, desperate. "He has to pay! He tortured her!" It was me.

The voices faded and I returned to reality. I didn't know how long I had been stood there, but I knew that I had to get going, or he would return and I would miss my chance. I would have to think about it later.

I turned into the deep overgrown woods and began walking at a fast pace, eager to get away from the house. Eventually I would find something; someone and I would be free. I just had to get away, before it was too late.

Within minutes I was out of sight of the house, and I couldn't help but take a sigh of relief. I had gotten this far, I could do this. My tough stamina allowed me to maintain this pace for the best part of an hour. I slowed down as I approached a small clearing, much like the one the cabin had been situated in, only smaller. There was a rock in the centre of it, just high enough to sit on without falling off. I decided that a minute break wouldn't do any harm, so I climbed up to the rock and perched, just for a moment. Before I knew it the dream was filling my mind, allowing me to think of nothing else. That had been him, and he was talking to me. But this was before he had changed. It was like a small section of my memory had been restored at the sight of the cabin. The Cabin…

I didn't remember much, only what I had seen. I had been furious, someone had been tortured, and someone close to me. I wanted the culprit to pay. He couldn't just get away with it, and if I didn't deal with him, nobody would and his actions would go unpunished. I had tried to get to him, but big, strong arms had held me back. I wanted to relax into these arms, but I also wanted to fight, and this side of me was stronger. I resisted him, tried to throw him out of my path so that I could get to the boy, what was his name… James? Jones? No, it was Jesse. I was beginning to remember things as I relived the story of my life.

Jesse had attacked her, he had wanted her to join him, but she wouldn't. She was stronger than him, mentally, and he couldn't stand it. But physically, she was fragile, and Jesse had overpowered her and tortured her to the point of corruption. I began to feel this anger again, starting in my fingers and toes and beginning to spread all over me. I couldn't do this now, I couldn't give myself away. I had to keep moving.

I stood up from the rock and walked back out to the tree border. I couldn't quite remember which way I had come in by, so I walked off in what I hoped was the opposite direction. I knew that I was headed in the right direction (well, away from the cabin at least) when I reached a fallen tree that I hadn't seen before. I had to lift myself to climb over it, but my arms were strong enough so it wasn't too difficult. It had taken a while, but I was beginning to get used to my strength and at this moment, I felt as though nothing could stop me. I looked up to the sky in a moment of pride and noticed that the clouds were getting darker. In fact now that I think about it there hadn't been any clouds when I had left the house. They were moving quickly, and I wasn't moving quickly enough.

As I increased my pace through the woods, the clouds became darker, until there wasn't a lot of sunlight left. It wasn't night yet, I still had a few hours, but these clouds were signalling a storm and I could do with getting under cover. I looked around and saw, about fifty feet ahead, a rock which had another fallen tree over it. It didn't give a lot of cover, but it was enough to keep me from getting soaked in the rain that was to fall in the not too distant future. I approached the rock quickly and wedged myself into the gap between the tree and the rock. The gap was small, and the bottom half of my legs were uncovered, but it was my main body that was important. The clouds grew darker and I could hear the rain falling nearby. Within minutes there was a steady drizzle, quickly making my legs damp. I closed my eyes and tried to think about this memory that had been restored, but I quickly drifted off to sleep.

I opened my eyes to see that it was still raining, and it was still dark. I could hear thunder. My back was aching from being stuck in an uncomfortable position all night, so I sat up, ignoring the fact that I was getting drenched. I stretched myself out, trying to ease the pain slightly, reaching up and then down to my toes. When I stood up I was startled by a figure. I couldn't see who it was. They weren't very tall, perhaps a centimetre or two taller than me, and they had short cut blonde-brown hair. It was definitely a boy, I could tell from his muscular built and broad shoulders. It wasn't Dimitri, he wasn't tall enough, and his hair wasn't dark enough, but he did have something in common with him. When I looked towards his face, I noticed that he was staring at me. His eyes had red rings around them, and the look on his face resembled one of hunger. His skin was almost white. He took a step forward, and I held my ground. I wasn't giving in. I wouldn't back away from someone I know, so why should I fear a stranger. He stepped towards me again, leaving such a small gap that I could see a twinkle in his eye. I noticed that one side of his mouth was raised, resembling a half-smile, but I was oblivious to the knife he held in his other hand. Before I could do anything, he pushed it towards my side. I may not have been aware, but someone else was. A dark figure in a long coat with a hood jumped out from the woods and shoved into the stranger's side, pushing him away from me. He stepped back in surprise, but didn't hesitate and jumped towards me again. My tall, dark hero jumped between us, taking the knife into his chest. He let out a roar of pain, or anger. The stranger vanished, and I ran towards the injured man. I pulled back his hood and gasped when I saw who it was. It was Dimitri. A single tear ran down my face and landed on his.

I woke up. My face was covered in tears, or was it rain. The clouds had disappeared and the sun was shining, it was morning again. I looked around for a moment, expecting Dimitri to be on the floor with a fatal wound, but he was nowhere to be seen. Was I relieved? After a moment's thought, I persuaded myself. Of course I was, it was only a dream and I was trying to get away from him, not waiting for him to find me. On that note, I stood up, stretching out and looked around.

I was completely soaked, my clothes were heavy and cold, and my hair was stuck down the side of my face. The tree that had been covering me had slipped off the rock during the night and left me open to the rain. I was cold, and my legs were sore from being stuck out at odd angles during the night. I decided to continue. I couldn't be too far from some sort of civilisation. I had to carry on. Besides, I wasn't actually hurt.

I continued walking, gradually developing a headache. It must have been the pressure of the rain against my head all night. It wasn't pleasant, and it made me wish that I had found some aspirin around the cabin before I left, but it wasn't worth going back, and I'd had worse before.

I had been walking all day. The forest looked the same whichever direction I went in. I was growing impatient, and I just wanted to get out of the woods and into a warm bath. My hair was tangled and my clothes were still wet from the rain the night before. I was beginning to get hungry. When I thought about it, I haven't eaten since the day before, but I had a lot on my mind so maybe it had been distracting me. I looked around hoping that, by some pure stroke of luck, there was an apple tree, or a berry bush around. I browsed around the area I was in, but there was nothing. Anger built up in my and before I knew what I was doing, I balled my hand up into a fist and threw it into the tree next to me. It hurt, a lot. I held my breath and tried not to cry, or scream. I wasn't usually one to react to pain, but this hurt like hell, and I hadn't exactly hurt myself a lot recently so I wasn't used to it. As I cradled my hand, I heard rustling.

It wasn't too far away, maybe fifty feet away, but I couldn't see anything because of the density of the trees. I froze. The rustling sounds repeated, feeling closer this time. Without a second though, I ran. Straight through the tree I had punched and another, over fallen branches and rocks. I forgot about the pain in my hand and allowed the adrenaline to take over. I ran as fast as I could, with everything that I had. I had lost my usual focus and managed to get my foot caught under a root of a tree. I pulled, as I was mid-run and felt something in my knee collapse. Oh. My. God. If I thought that hitting the tree had hurt, this was a new experience. I felt like my knee was on fire. I fell straight to the ground, leaving my face in the leaves. I wanted to scream. Really, really loud. But I didn't know what I was running away from. Was it something I should be afraid of, Dimitri? Or maybe the stranger from my dream? I kept my head on the ground for what felt like ages. I didn't hear the rustling again. Maybe I had just been paranoid, or maybe it had been something like a rabbit or a squirrel. The thought annoyed me because I realised that, first, that could have been a source of food, and second, I just did this to my leg over nothing, or worse, a squirrel.

I dragged my head up from the ground when I decided that I could sit up without screaming. I looked around, I was alone. My eyes moved to my hand which was beginning to swell. I doubt it was broken but it sure did feel like it at the time. My knee was in agony but I decided to leave it because I didn't want to have to look at it right now. And to top it off, my headache was turning into a fully blown migraine. I doubt I would even sense a Strigoi approaching. Which is why I was so surprised when one did.

"Roza?"


End file.
